Repair parts for pipe lines



Jan. 5, 1943. J. 5. M GUIRE 2,307,148

REPAIR PARTS FOR PIPE LINES Filed May 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. /0fi/7 .51 Ma 'u/re BY I : ATTORNEYS Jan. 5, 1943. J. s. MCGUIRE 2,307,148

REPAIR PARTS FOR PIPE LINES Filed May 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 /z I M o INVENTOR. J06 .5: Ma 641/72 BY 2 g 2 i ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1943 ED s'm'rss TENT OFFICE REPAIR PARTS iron rrrn -z 1 John S. McGuire, Kansas City, lKana, assignor to 0. Earl Hover, Kansas City, Mo., as trustee 3 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of repairing pipe lines and has for its primary object the provision of a repair assembly for jointed pipe lines that are used in the transportation of gas and liquids.

The salient aim of the instant invention is to provide repair parts for pipe lines of the aforementioned character, which repair parts may be positioned without stopping the flow of gas or liquid therethrough and without endangering the operator as a result of subjecting the joint of the pipe line to extremely high temperatures due to welding.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a repair assembly for jointed pipe lines, the component parts of which are formed from initially fiat sheets of material in such a manner as to avoid waste and to overcome the possibility of twisting, resulting in the necessity of a straightening operation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of repair parts for pipe lines, one element of which is relatively long and provided with a bead adjacent to one end thereof, the distance from said end being within certain limits so that the element may be formed from a rectangular piece of stock material without a blanking operation.

Other objects of this invention include the formation of an interengaging sole and cap, both of which have beads provided therein, and each of which is arcuate in transverse cross section to the extent that the body portion extends through an arc of 180 while the beads extend through arcs of more than 180 and less than 180 respectively.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a specially formed cap for use as a part in a repair assembly for jointed pipes, which cap is produced from a blank that is relatively small in area so that waste of material is reduced to a minimum, said blank being particularly designed to establish a .snug fit between the cap which it forms and the hereinabove mentioned sole.

Additional objects of the invention will appear during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a condensed side elevaticnal view of a length of a jointed pipe line having a repair assembly made in accordance with this invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the length of pipe shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed sectional view through a portion of the repair assembly at the zone of connection between the beads of the sole and cap.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the two parts of the repair assembly before applying to the pipe line.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through a length of pipe line having a repair assembly thereon, modified slightly to accommodate the type of joint employed in the particular pipe line.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a blank used in producing the beaded cap; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the blank used in producing the sole of the repair assembly.

Those skilled in the art realize that heretofore the application of so-called half-soles to jointed pipe lines involved welding in the field and further recognize that efiorts have been expended to specially produce repair parts for pipe lines that could be economically and safely positioned when the necessity arose, due to actual or possible failure of pipe line material.

It is now the general practice to provide pipe line patches that are sectional in nature, to the extent that the patch parts at the pipe line joint, are applied and thereafter half soles or arcuate lengths of material are then afilxed to the pipe line and in many instances, welded to the patch which embraces the joint. Practically all of the welded type repair parts are made under specifications intended to effect economy, but due to the large amount of welding required during placement, the expense of material, manufacture,

handling and installation, it is yet unnecessarily high. Blanking dies used to produce many of the so-called half soles or pipe line patches at the present time, are expensive and when material is treated thereby, wastage occurs that must be overcome before welded repair parts for pipe lines will become generally adopted and recognized as desirable by the industry.

Realizing that pipe line sections average 21 ft. in length, and understanding that it is virtually impossible to repair the pipe line without encasing or passing by at least one joint, the principal step forward contemplates the provision of a sole that may be used with or without the cap part of the assembly. It will hereinafter become apparent that cutting of material and girth welding will be reduced to an absolute minimum where the sole is formed as later claimed, and to a length of substantially 14 ft.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the sole, generally designated by the numeral 10. is formed from a rectangular blank having a straight uninterrupted side and end edges l2 and I4 respectively, as seen in Fig. 8. The length of the blank from which sole I! is formed, and therefore the sole per se, is 14 f and the width is determined only by the degre 3f curvature necessary to produce the sole for a pipe of given diameter. In any instance however, the body of sole Hi from edge l2 to edge 12 must extend through an arc of 180 After the appropriate blank has been selected, a transverse bead i6 is pressed therein along a line not more than 18 in. from one end H thereof. The reason for limiting this distance lies in the fact that if the head is pressed into sole l at a greater distance from an end I4, twisting will occur and a straightening operation will of necessity be required.

Since the blank from which sole I0 is created is of uniform width throughout its length, the production of transverse bead I6 will cause a contraction of that material between the arcuate longitudinal edges of bead I6. Thus, when sole ID has been completed, the ends of bead 16 will be spaced inwardly from ,the plane of edges l2, or in other words, the major portion of head is will extend through an arc of less than 180.

In practice, it has been found that where A in. material is used and where the bead is in. in depth, and further, where the radius of sole I0 is such as to allow a fit to 8 in. pipe, the drop of the ends of head l6 below edges i2 is .58 in. Obviously, no special blanking die is needed in producing sole l0.

The edges ll of sole Ill are diametrically opposite and are in abutting relation with the straight portions of edges i8 of cap 20. Cap 20 is transversely arched and has a head 22 imposed therein at the center of its body.

Cap 20 is produced from a blank such as that illustrated in Fig. '7. Edges 24 of the material join edges 18 and a salient 26 which extends outwardly from each edge i 8 respectively, insures an arc of more than 180 when cap 20 is complete. Edges l8 of cap 20 are diametrically opposite and lie in abutting relation with edges l2 of sole l0 when the repair assembly is in place, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The amount ofimaterial which must be wasted in the manufacture of cap 20, is represented by the four small pieces that are cut away from the blank to produce salients 26. Thus, one of the important advantages arising from this invention is realized and the cost of material wasted is reduced to a minimum.

The cooperating relation between cap 20 and sole I0 is at once realized when the welder proceeds to secure together abutting edges l8 and I2 along each side of pipe sections 28. Not only will the straight edges of sole and cap l0 and 20 lie close enough to permit spacing to a desired extent by the operator, but the edges at the ends of beads l and 22 will likewise be in close proximity so that welding material 30, to precisely the amount necessary, may be introduced between the sole and cap.

All welding material, illustrated in the drawings, is designated by the numeral 30 and edges 24 of cap 20 are welded to pipe sections 28 as are the edges M of sole l0 and the portions of edges l2 not in opposed relation with respect to edges l8 of cap 20.

In Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, the repair assembly has been illustrated in operative position at a Joint between sections 28 that has been produced by welding 32. Pits 34 are covered by sole l0, and if the weld 32 between sections 28 was weakened and required reinforcement. the repair assembly. shown in Fig. 1, is adequate to meet all requirements and to recondition the Joint to a point of efllciency equal to that which was present when the pipe line was first constructed.

Reference to Fig. 4 indicates the manner in which an end edge 35 of bead I6 lies below the plane wherein edges I2 and I8 of sole and cap l0 and respectively, are disposed. Line 38 indicates the said plane and also a diametrical line upon which the straight portions of edges l2 and iii are positioned when sole and cap are in place. Edge 38 of bead 22 lies below this line 36 and when beads l6 and 22 have their ends in register, adequate housingof the joint, which in the instance shown in Fig. 2 is indicated at 32, will take place.

Fig. 6 illustrates pipe line sections 40 which are secured together by an internally threaded collar 42 of conventional design. Such a Joint requires a slightly different type of bead on both sole and cap in and 20 respectively, and the cross sectional contour of this bead 44 is as seen in this Fig. 6.

The manner of producing cap 20 from a blank having a salient of a slightly diiferent form, remains the same and again the objects of this invention, with respect to economy of material and manufacture, are realized.

When a sole I0 is positioned at each of two proximal joints of a pipe line, and where it is desired to reinforce the lower half of the pipe line between the adjacent edges of sole l0, it is only necessary to out an arcuate sheet of material, known as a half-sole, to a length. equal to the distance between the said adjacent edges. For example if the length of half-soles I0 is 14 ft., the length of sections 28 is 21 ft., and the distance of bead i6 from one end of sole I0 is 12 in., it is clear that the length of the intermediate arcuate half sole could be either 7 or 19 ft., depending upon the positioning of soles l0.-

With the sole so formed as to create a portion of the joint encasing part, it will always be possible to form a continuous half-sole for a pipe line at a minimum cost regardless of the length of the line.

There is no overlapping of any part of sole or cap [0 or 20, as the case may be, and therefore, a reversal of positions from those shown in Fig. 1 may take place in the field without the necessity of cutting or additional welding.

An understanding of the physical embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specified hereinabove, will at once teach those skilled in the art the manner of practicing the invention in ways other than those herein revealed, and therefore, it is desired to be limited only by the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A cap for a repair assembly for jointed pipe lines comprising an arcuate body of sheet metal, said body having a transverse bead therein, said bead extending through an arc of more than the remaining portion of the body extending through an arc of 180.

2. A cap for a repair assembly for jointed pipe lines, comprising an arcuate body formed from a lines, comprising an arcuate body formed from a rectangular piece of sheet metal, opposed salients extending outwardly from opposite edges of said rectangular piece of metal, said body having a. transverse bead formed to incorporate both salients therein at the end of the bead.

JOHN S. MCGUIRE. 

